Now coming into its sixth year the OCP initiative creates open source hardware for data centres that includes servers, storage and networking equipment, which have been designed without legacy constraints.
The focus of the project is on computing scalability for the lowest total cost. The net result of this is a total re-evaluation of the server ecosystem, which in turn, has led to improvements amongst many areas including energy efficiency and reliability.
McCulloch states that OCP’s ability to go from strength to strength is a testament to those embracing its ever-growing community. As the benefits amongst adopters and the wider tech community are realised, the next challenge will be to ensure continued awareness – doing so will strengthen its existing ecosystem and further unlock innovations amongst the community:
“2017 will be a break-through year for OCP. At its inception, many questioned whether the ideologies of what OCP conforms to would resonate amongst those in the industry. Fast-forward to today, and as popularity increases amongst hyperscale data centres, its growth is now starting to gain traction within enterprises and even small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), who have more specific data centre needs.
“For those embracing OCP it’s easy to see why. As organisations are increasingly forced to carry and process unprecedented volumes of data, whether it be social, mobile, analytics or cloud, the need for future-proofing to address scalability has never been more apparent.
“Open Compute allows one single design to be configured for different purposes to support common applications, whether that is high-performance computing (HPC) or storage-server applications.
“The OCP principles mean that in the event of a component upgrade, complete replacement isn’t always needed. Upgrades are simpler and more cost effective. Data centre components designed to Open Compute standards are also easier to re-deploy for different applications, reducing costs associated with application-specific systems. This all leads to space efficiency, scalability and lower operating expenses. Additionally, other benefits such as reduced vendor lock-in as well as reduced operating costs across facilities are widely acknowledged amongst OCP participants.”
McCulloch concludes: “As the OCP community continues to grow so will innovation amongst members. While there are those still hesitant of what OCP represents, the reality is that those organisations will be left behind by their more willing compatriots striving for industry best practice. The challenge which OCP must continue to embrace is recruiting members – doing so will ensure that innovation remains at the forefront of the OCP values.”
Aegis Data, in collaboration with DCPro Development and Hyperscale IT, is providing a unique training course to data centre managers. The course, in partnership with the Open Compute Project (OCP), will look to offer data centre providers with greater oversight and help raise awareness of the use of OCP systems within the data centre. The course will be run at the Aegis Data facility in Godalming, Surrey on Tuesday 28th February 2017.
